Dr. Kidane Geda had five years of experience s toiling away as a pharmacist in a big box store and it bothered him that he did not always have quality time to devote to his customers.

As Geda put it, it was just about the numbers and profit margins; his former pharmacy was accountable to its shareholders.

In contrast, Geda wanted a pharmacy that was accountable to the community, he said. That dream came true when Geda and the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce held a grand opening for his new Care Rx Health Mart Pharmacy in the Kent 8 Shopping Center Friday morning.

"In the world of chain pharmacy, productivity is measured by the number of prescriptions filled, not by lives saved," Geda said. "Personnel are over stretched to their limit, and the assembly line structure of chains pharmacy work flow would not allow patients to get the services they expect from their pharmacist.

"As an independent pharmacist, I have to make people aware that they have a choice, and I am in it to offer that choice," he said. "That is why I decided to venture out on my own. I have a professional interest to do better than what has been given to the public, and also a business interest to provide the unmet need of patients at the big box pharmacies."

Joining Geda for the grand opening were Mayor Carleton E. Carey Sr., friends and family and local merchants who wanted to welcome Geda to the Dover business community.

Geda thanked everyone for their support and pledged to be a community-centered pharmacy that would deliver prescriptions to all of the city of Dover. Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce marketing director J.R. Ennis then steered everyone to the outside of the store for a ribbon cutting with oversized scissors.

"I like do to a lot of things with the chamber, which does a lot with the networking," Morris said. "That's what I like about our chamber; they do a lot of things for the mom and pops."

"When I see smaller businesses I always tell my friends about it if there's something I like about it," Young said.

Carey said it was always good to see someone realize his dreams of entrepreneurship.

"We're really pleased to have him here," he said. "It's a mom and pop operation. It means a lot to our community. We want people to be healthy."

There are thousands of RX Health Mart pharmacies throughout the United States, according to healthmart.com. All RX Health Mart pharmacies are locally-owned community pharmacies with pharmacists that live in the communities they serve.

Page 2 of 2 - "Health Mart is a strong and recognizable brand in independent pharmacies across the country," Geda said. "Our goal was to open a well-respected community pharmacy that will deliver the highest level of personal care and quality service to Dover residents and their families.

"We look forward to meeting our patients and getting to know them personally," he added.

Geda said that personal approach at his pharmacy would allow him to not be bothered by the presence of other big box pharmacies in a less than a mile from his pharmacy.

Geda earned his doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Maryland in 2003. He then served in Bayhealth-Kent General Hospital for 10 years.